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Old-Fashioned Orange Buttercream Cake

A perfect sweet bite! This orange cake has a soft crumb and is very moist. Perfect for a large crowd or a three layer cake. This is a cake like grandma used to make!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword American Dessert, Classic Desserts, Old-Fashioned Recipes, Orange Cake, Potluck Desserts, Sheet Cake Recipes, Something Sweet
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 10 servings
Author The Tiny Fairy

Ingredients

CAKE BATTER

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream, very cold
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoon pure vanilla paste or vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons butter emulsion prefer LorAnn's brand
  • 4 extra large eggs, room temperature like Eggland's Best or your favorite brand
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted and measured prefer White Lily brand
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt prefer Diamond brand
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder

ORANGE SYRUP DRIZZLE

  • juice of 1 large navel orange zest first, then juice
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup like Karo brand
  • 1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier, optional

ORANGE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

  • 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick) prefer Plugra or Kerrygold butter
  • zest of 1 navel orange zest from orange mentioned above
  • small pinch of kosher salt prefer Diamond kosher salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla paste or vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon orange extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2-3 Tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and place oven rack in the center. Grease and flour baking sheet or round cake pans and set aside. Sift the flour (batter) and powdered sugar (frosting) and set aside.

    Note: If making a 9X13 pan, reduce recipe by half.

CAKE BATTER

  1. In a stand alone mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand held electric mixer, whip the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks.

  2. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the granulated sugar. Scrape down the sides and add the vanilla paste or extract and butter emulsion. Mix to combine.

  3. Beat in one egg at a time until all four eggs have been incorporated.

  4. Add in the flour one cup at a time. Sift the cup of flour over the mixing bowl and mix just until combined with the mixer on low speed. Do this for the first two cups. Add kosher salt and sift the baking powder over the mixing bowl and mix until combined. Sift the last cup of flour over the mixing bowl, then fold in the remaining flour with a spatula.

  5. Bake for about 30 minutes, check at 25 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center.

  6. Remove from the oven and evenly drizzle the Orange Syrup (recipe below). Allow to cool completely before frosting.

ORANGE SYRUP DRIZZLE

  1. In a small pot over medium heat, bring to a strong simmer the orange juice, granulated sugar and light corn syrup. Stir to dissolve the sugar and prevent the orange juice from burning. After a few minutes, remove from heat. Optional: add Grand Marnier.

ORANGE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

  1. While the cake is baking, make the buttercream frosting. Cream the butter for about 7 minutes until light in color and creamy in texture. Start on low speed then beat on high to make light and airy.

  2. Add the orange zest, small pinch of salt, vanilla paste or vanilla extract and orange extract. Mix to combine on low speed.

  3. Add a cup of powdered sugar at a time and mix on low speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl after each cup. Slowly add the whole milk until the frosting is of desired consistency. Start with 2 Tablespoon, then add the third if needed. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Once all the ingredients have been combined, beat on high speed for a few minutes.

  4. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting or the frosting will melt into the cake. Dollop the buttercream on the sheet cake then spread with an offset spatula. Decorate with sprinkles, as desired. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

This recipe is slight adapted from Phyllis Stokes's Aunt Marie's Orange Buttercream Cake.  

Note:  I doubled the frosting recipe to decorate the  M O M mini cakes for Mother's Day.